AUTHOR=Haug Elisabeth , Øie Merete Glenne , Svendsen Ingrid Hartveit , Møller Paul , Nelson Barnaby , Melle Ingrid 

TITLE=Basic self-disorders may play a role in the development of depression in schizophrenia: a seven-year follow-up study

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychiatry

VOLUME=Volume 15 - 2024

YEAR=2025

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychiatry/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1521366

DOI=10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1521366

ISSN=1664-0640

ABSTRACT=IntroductionDepression is the most common co-morbid psychiatric disorder in patients with schizophrenia and has a negative effect on functional outcomes and quality of life. There are several possible pathways leading to depressive symptoms in schizophrenia. Self-disorders are disturbances in the deepest, pre-reflective level of the self and are suggested to be core features of schizophrenia. The relationship between self-disorders, and depressive symptoms has only been studied to a limited extent, and there are no longitudinal studies. This study aimed to explore the relationship between self-disorders at baseline and the development of depression over the follow-up periodMethodsSelf-disorders were examined with the Examination of Anomalous Self-Experience (EASE) instrument in 31 patients with schizophrenia during their first treatment. Seven years later we measured the total number of depressive episodes since the start of treatment.ResultsWe found a clear association between self-disorders at baseline and the total number of depressive episodes over the follow-up period.DiscussionSelf-disorders may play a role in the development of depression in schizophrenia. This may have implications for therapeutic approaches targeting a condition that is characterized by considerable suffering and an elevated risk of suicide.